Bust or Black?

Many a Rhodesian went to the polls last week to the tune of a grim little ditty called "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow U.D.I."

U.D.I. stands for "Unilateral Declaration of Independence," a doctrine that Prime Minister Ian Smith threatens to invoke unless Britain grants freedom to his white-supremacist nation, which remains tied to London through a colonial constitution. To prepare for U.D.I., Smith dissolved his Parliament six weeks ago, called on Rhodesia's white voters to give him an overwhelming mandate in the new Assembly, and started propaganda machines pounding home the "real issue" of the election: white in dependence or black domination.

The fact that his Rhodesian Front's only opposition party was also largely white bothered Smith and his followers not at all. Full-page ads warned of "a black future for all" unless Smith got his way. Posters appeared everywhere to inform voters they could "Trust Mr. Smith -- he will never hand over Rhodesia." Jeering at the British demand that Rhodesia's blacks should be given increased voting rights, a Smith backer at one rally shouted, "I've got three dogs; can they vote?"

Under the Smith regime's tight rule, Rhodesia's 4,000,000 blacks represent no measurable danger to its 217,000 ruling whites -- as government security officials are quick to admit. Only 11,500 Negroes are allowed to vote, and only approved candidates are allowed to run. The black population is kept divided. More than 1,000 black political leaders are either in jail or in isolation camps.

Britain has warned that it would regard U.D.I, as "rebellion," break relations with the outlaw regime and impose an economic boycott, which would throw thousands of whites out of work and send the economy into a tailspin. Opposition Leader David Butler, 37, a wealthy tobacco farmer, was well aware of the consequences. "The Rhodesian way of life would be ruined by U.D.I.," he warned. "It is a way of life that depends on economic prosperity."

But nobody was listening. A Rhodesian government White Paper issued just before the elections scoffed at the prospect of economic depression, threatened to retaliate with economic sanctions against its independent Negro neighbors in Zambia and Malawi. A new warning by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning U.D.I. only added to Smith's strength, and by the time election day rolled around, there were few white Rhodesians who did not agree with the unofficial motto of the Smith machine: "We would rather go bust than black."

Smith got his mandate. At week's end his party won all 50 white seats in the 65-member Assembly.

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